Desire

 

'Minnow'

The Concise Oxford Dictionary firstly defines ‘desire’ as a noun; meaning a strong feeling of wanting to have something or wishing for something to happen, and secondly as a verb; to strongly wish for or want, perhaps sexually.

Without a doubt, our desires motivate us to pursue and obtain them. Our prime desires are for our basic needs, i.e., water, food, clothing and shelter; for without them we cannot survive for any length of time. After puberty our innate desire is to procreate. This in-built part of our nature works for the survival of our species.

We will strive after that which we desire, and without desire, which is a God-given attribute; we would have little to motivate us - beyond achieving a basic, primitive existence, not unlike early Homo sapiens, hunting and gathering for their survival. Mankind’s desires have brought the human race to where it is – on the brink of disaster, where the survival of the world in its viable ecological state is questionable on account of global warming, the pillaging of nature’s resources, and because of unsustainable population growth.

The God-given attribute of desire, when focussed on self-gain, greed or gratification is a destructive force for an individual who willingly entertains it with these motivations. More often than not, his desire is for what he should not have, because of its destructive nature, e.g., he is injurious to himself by eating too many beef burgers, drinking copious amounts of Coca Cola, smoking cannabis or by indulging in sex with a prostitute from whom he contracts a venereal disease.

If we are to live well-adjusted lives, our desires must be channelled and controlled for our own sake, and for the betterment of those we love - indeed, for the wellbeing of all with whom we come into contact, or may influence. We must closely examine our desires, and gain control over any that are destructive. If we’ve gone too far by becoming addicts of unwholesome and destructive desires, we should make every effort to seek help to overcome them.

Throughout my life, from the age of 13, I’ve always wanted to play around with boats, particularly sailing boats; my desire has been to build them, renovate them, own them and sail them, but never to the extent that I became an addict. I admit that at times, I very nearly became obsessed with them, but today, after 67 years, I am losing my desire for them; indeed, I have very nearly lost any desire to own a boat, renovate one, sail one, or even go out on the water. This is a very strange experience, hard to understand. I am trying to rekindle my desire, perhaps by launching ‘Minnow’ with a view to day sailing her, or by having a short cruise.

Links

Desire

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Desire

Desire

http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/desire

 

Photos of Boats I have Owned - Part 1

http://bills-log.blogspot.co.uk/2013/04/photos-of-boats-i-have-owned-part-1.html